Harin looked at Ibnor, a grim expression on her face. The air was thick with tension, the oppressive atmosphere of the ruins weighing heavily upon them. "This is it," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "The final confrontation."
The courtyard before the temple was a scene of grim desolation. Two dragons, their scales gleaming faintly in the swirling snow, patrolled the area, their roars echoing off the crumbling walls. Several draugr, their ancient armor rusted and their movements jerky, shuffled amongst the ruins. Harin and Ibnor exchanged a look.
"Sneaking is our best bet," Ibnor murmured, drawing his blade but keeping it low. Harin nodded, tightening her grip on her own blade.
"Agreed. Less noise, less trouble. Hopefully."
Moving carefully from cover to cover, they used the broken walls and fallen debris to their advantage. The wind howled, masking their footsteps, and the swirling snow provided additional cover. With careful timing and precise movements, they managed to slip past the dragons and draugr, avoiding detection.
"Close one," Harin whispered, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow as they reached the relative safety of the temple entrance. "Those dragons… if they notice us..."
"Yeah," Ibnor replied, glancing back at the patrolling dragons. "Best not to draw their attention if we can help it. We have bigger fish to fry."
Entering the temple complex, they found themselves in a large chamber filled with more draugr. A narrow western pathway beckoned, but Harin noticed disturbed dust on the floor, a telltale sign of a trap. She pointed it out to Ibnor, who nodded grimly.
"Good eye," he commended. "Delphine would be proud."
"If she wasn't so set on… well, you know," Harin muttered, a frown creasing her brow. They carefully skirted the area, avoiding the dart trap that would have otherwise sprung from the wall.
The pathway led them to the first puzzle room. Three pillars, each etched with pictographs of an Eagle, a Snake, and a Whale, stood separated by low walls. A lever was positioned between the pillars and two large doorways. Pictographs matching the outer pillars were etched on the walls beside them: a Whale on the west and a Snake on the east. Above the doorways were further pictographs: an Eagle above the east door and a Snake above the west.
Remembering the clues, Harin instructed Ibnor. "The outer ones need to match their wall carvings," she explained, pointing to the Whale and Snake. "Then the middle one needs to show the symbol above the door we want to open. So, Snake for the west door."
They rotated the outer pillars until the matching pictographs faced each other. Then, they turned the central pillar so that the Snake faced north, towards the western door. Harin pulled the lever. The western door creaked open, revealing a passage deeper into the temple. The eastern door, leading to a dead end and a treasure chest behind a collapsed wall, remained stubbornly shut.
"Let's hope there's something worthwhile beyond all this," Ibnor said, sheathing his blade. "Besides more draugr, of course."
The next small room was infested with draugr, easily dispatched. Beyond that, a larger chamber was choked with thick webs spun by frostbite spiders. The webs blocked a doorway, forcing them to cut their way through with their blades.
"Ugh, spiders," Harin muttered, wiping strands of web from her face. "I hate spiders."
Ibnor chuckled lightly. "At least they're not chaurus," he replied. "Imagine trying to navigate this with those things lurking about."
"Don't even," Harin shuddered.
The next chamber presented the second puzzle. With practiced efficiency, they manipulated the pillars. A platform provided a shortcut, and Harin, using Whirlwind Sprint, quickly bypassed the rest of the puzzle to reach the next doorway.
"Show off," Ibnor teased as he caught up, slightly out of breath. Harin grinned. "Someone has to be efficient."
They continued through the temple, dispatching more draugr and navigating treacherous traps. They crossed a bridge, carefully avoiding a pressure plate that triggered both a dart trap and a falling lantern that would ignite an oil slick. They used another oil slick and lantern to their advantage, dispatching three more draugr with a fiery explosion.
"That was… satisfying," Ibnor commented, watching the flames die down. "A bit barbaric, perhaps, but effective."
Finally, they reached a puzzle door. A draugr, clutching a diamond claw, stood guard. After a brief but fierce fight, they claimed the claw. Examining it closely, they noted the combination: Fox—Moth—Dragon. They aligned the rings on the door accordingly, and it sank open, revealing a small chamber. A word wall stood within, etched with runes that resonated with power. Harin approached and absorbed the knowledge, learning a word of the Storm Call shout.
Ibnor, as usual, uses his telekinesis to collect all the scattered colored balls.
[Dragon Tongue +1]
[Mental +0.3]
[Mental +0.8]
[Dragon Tongue +1]
[Shout (Storm Call) - STRUN]
[Physique +0.4]
Ibnor opened his panel.
______________________________________________________
Ibnor
Status
Normal
Stats
Strength
48.3
Agility
52.1
Mental
48.4
Physique
52.6
Sub-Stat
Charm
19.6
Active Effect
[Resist Frost +10%], [Resist Poison +10%], [Resist Magic +15%]
Skills
Passive
[Enhanced Condition], [Close Quarter Combat - Master], [Parkour - Expert], [Dragon's Tongue - Beginner], [Dibellan Arts - Expert], [Choronmancy - Beginner]
Active
[Archery (76.4)], [Blacksmithing (35.9)], [One Handed (91.4)], [Two Handed (53.3)], [Block (56.8)], [Alchemy (26.4)], [Sneak (94.7)], [Lockpicking (78.2)], [Pickpocket (80.4)],
Spells
[Telekinesis], [Bound Bow], [Magelight],
Shout
[Shout (Unrelenting Force) - FUS], [Shout (Disarm) - ZUN], [Shout (Slow Time) - TIID] , [Shout (Storm Call) - STRUN]
Abilities
[Agent of Nocturnal], [Agent of Akatosh],
Notification
*The Passion Dancer is happy with you.
*The Mistress of Night and Darkness likes you.
*The Father of Manbeasts finds you amusing.
*The Master of Insidious Wishes is aware of you.
*The World Eater bears hostility towards you through the echoes of time.
*The Dragon God of Time is now aware of you.
______________________________________________________
Exiting the chamber, they found themselves on a large rocky platform, high above where they had first entered Skuldafn. More draugr awaited them, but Harin used Unrelenting Force to send several of them tumbling over the edge.
"FUS RO DAH!"
Harin shouted, a grin spreading across her face. Ibnor only shook his head, smiling. They walk to the opposite end of the platform.
Looking up, they saw two dragons perched atop massive stone columns, their silhouettes outlined against the stormy sky. This was it. The final approach to Alduin's portal. But a final guardian stood in their way: a dragon priest named Nahkriin.
As they ascended the final staircase, Nahkriin noticed them and moved towards his staff, which rested on a nearby pedestal. Harin knew they had to act quickly.
"Now!" she yelled, and she and Ibnor charged, engaging him in a battle. They focused their attacks, preventing him from fully utilizing the staff's shock magic. The battle was short and brutal. Nahkriin fell, his mask clattering to the stone.
Harin retrieved the staff and mask, then approached the Dragon Seal. She glanced at Ibnor, a silent understanding passing between them. With a deep breath, she activated it. The air shimmered and tore open, revealing a swirling vortex of light and color. The portal to Sovngarde.
The portal shimmered, then snapped open, pulling Harin and Ibnor into a swirling vortex of light and color. They landed on solid ground, the air thick with a cold, damp mist. Statues of Nord warriors, their faces stoic and grim, lined the path ahead, disappearing into the swirling grey.
"Sovngarde," Harin breathed, her voice echoing strangely in the oppressive silence.
"A land of heroes," Ibnor murmured, his gaze sweeping across the misty landscape.
The mist clung to everything, muting the colors and creating an eerie, dreamlike atmosphere. Harin tried the Clear Skies shout.
"LOK VAH KOOR!"
The mist briefly recoiled, revealing more of the valley and the endless ranks of statues, but it quickly reformed, like smoke disturbed by a gust of wind.
As they descended the stone steps, a figure emerged from within the mist, a Stormcloak soldier. His armor battered and his face etched with weariness. He clutched a rusted sword, his eyes wide with a mixture of fear and desperation.
"Stop! You mustn't go further!" he cried, his voice hoarse. "This mist… it's not natural. Alduin… he's out there. He devours the souls of the fallen." He explained how he'd died fighting the Imperials, and how his companions had been swallowed by the mist, taken by the World-Eater. He spoke of Shor's Hall, the destination for honored dead, and begged to join them.
"Please… don't leave me here."
Harin exchanged a look with Ibnor. "We're going to Shor's Hall," she told the soldier. "You're welcome to come with us."
As they ventured further into the valley, the soldier's warnings proved true. Alduin, a terrifying silhouette against the grey sky, would periodically swoop down, snatching a fallen soldier, sometimes Stormcloak and sometimes Imperial, from the mist. The soldier they'd met flinched at each appearance, whispering prayers to Shor.
They encountered figures from history, fleeting glimpses in the mist: High King Torygg, his face still bearing the shock of his death; Svaknir, his spectral form forever locked in a silent argument. These encounters added to the surreal and unsettling atmosphere of the valley.
Finally, the mist began to thin, revealing the end of the valley and a massive gate. A towering figure stood before it, his form radiating power and authority.
"What brings you, wayfarer grim, to wander here, in Sovngarde, souls-end, Shor's gift to honored dead?" the figure boomed, his voice echoing across the valley.
"Who are you?" Harin asked, her hand instinctively moving to the hilt of her sword.
"I am Tsun, shield-thane to Shor. The Whalebone Bridge he bade me guard and winnow all those souls whose heroic end sent them here, to Shor's lofty hall where welcome, well earned, awaits those I judge fit to join that fellowship of honor."
"I pursue Alduin, the World Eater," Harin stated firmly.
"A fateful errand. No few have chafed to face the Worm since first he set his soul-snare here at Sovngarde's threshold. But Shor restrained our wrathful onslaught - perhaps, deep counselled, your doom he foresaw."
"We seek entrance to the Hall of Valor," Harin said.
"No shade are you, as usually here passes, but living, you dare the land of the dead. By what right do you request entry?"
"By right of birth. I am Dragonborn," Harin declared.
"Ah! It's been too long since last I faced a doom-driven hero of the dragon blood."
"By right of plunder. I am a Nightingale of Nocturnal," Ibnor added.
Tsun's gaze shifted to Ibnor, his expression hardening. "Do not mistake the night-shrouded thief's stealthily-taken spoils, stolen and unearned, for a warrior's plunder, won in honorable battle. Your doom already binds you to your dark mistress, but your errand I will not hinder, if my wrath you can withstand." He turned back to Harin.
"Living or dead, by decree of Shor, none may pass this perilous bridge 'till I judge them worthy by the warrior's test." With that, Tsun hefted his massive axe, and the challenge was clear.
Tsun was a formidable opponent, his attacks swift and powerful. Harin, relying on her agility and speed, managed to evade his blows and land several strikes of her own, eventually bringing him down. Then Ibnor stepped forward, relying on his brute strength to overpower the gatekeeper. After a fierce exchange of blows, Tsun yielded.
Inside the Hall of Valor, the atmosphere shifted dramatically. The mist was gone, replaced by a warm, golden light. Nord heroes feasted and celebrated, their laughter and songs filling the air. At the head of the hall stood Ysgramor, clad in ancient Nord armor, his legendary axe strapped to his back.
"Welcome, Dragonborn! Our door has stood empty since Alduin first set his soul-snare here," Ysgramor greeted them. "By Shor's command we sheathed our blades and ventured not the vale's dark mist. But three await your word to loose their fury upon the perilous foe. Gormlaith the fearless, glad-hearted in battle; Hakon the valiant, heavy-handed warrior; Felldir the Old, far-seeing and grim."
Harin and Ibnor looked around the hall, taking in the sight of legendary figures like Jurgen Windcaller, Olaf One-Eye, and Ulfgar the Unending. They approached the three heroes Ysgramor had indicated.
"I need your help to defeat Alduin," Harin said to them.
"Alduin escaped us long ago," Felldir the Old replied, his voice deep and resonant. "Today we take our well-tempered revenge. For a hundred lifetimes my heart has burned for revenge on Alduin too long delayed."
Gormlaith Golden-Hilt approached them, her eyes shining with anticipation. "At long last! Alduin's doom is now ours to seal - just speak the word and with high hearths we'll hasten forth to smite the worm wherever he lurks."
"Hold, comrades," Felldir cautioned. "Let us counsel take before battle is blindly joined. Alduin's mist is more than a snare - its shadowy gloom is his shield and cloak. But with four Voices joined, our valor combined, we can blast the mist and bring him to battle."
"Felldir speaks wisdom," Hakon agreed. "The World-Eater, coward, fears you, Dragonborn. We must drive away his mist, Shouting together, and then unsheathe our blades in desperate battle with our black-winged foe."
"To battle, my friends! The fields will echo with the clamor of war, our wills undaunted!" Gormlaith declared, drawing her ancient Nord sword.
Harin and Ibnor followed the three heroes out of the Hall of Valor and across the Whalebone Bridge to the edge of the Shadowed Vale. The mist still swirled, obscuring the landscape.
"Ready?" Harin asked, looking at the assembled heroes. They nodded, their faces grimly determined.
"Alright," Harin said, taking a deep breath.
"LOK VAH KOOR!"
The Clear Skies shout roared from her throat, and the other three heroes joined their voices with hers. The mist recoiled, revealing a wider vista of the valley.
A deafening roar echoed through the now-clear air. Alduin descended from the sky, his eyes burning with fury.
"VEN MUL RIIK!" he roared, the Dragon Tongue words of power shaking the very ground. But as quickly as he appeared, the mist began to swirl again, obscuring him from view.
"Again!" Gormlaith shouted, undeterred.
"We can shatter his power if we Shout together!" Felldir added, his voice filled with determination.
Harin and the three heroes focused their will, gathering their Thu'um.
"LOK VAH KOOR!"
They shouted again, and the mist retreated once more. Again, Alduin's roar echoed,
"VEN MUL RIIK!" and again, the mist began to reform.
"Does his strength have no end? Is our struggle in vain?" Hakon questioned, a hint of weariness in his voice.
"Stand fast! His strength is failing!" Gormlaith rallied, her eyes fixed on the swirling mist. "Once more, and his might will be broken!"
"His power crumbles - do not pause for breath!" Felldir urged, his voice ringing with renewed determination.
Harin nodded, her resolve unwavering. They gathered their strength one last time.
"LOK VAH KOOR!"
The four voices joined in a powerful, resounding shout, and this time, the mist dissipated completely. Alduin, enraged and fully revealed, descended from the sky, ready for the final battle.
The mist dissipated, ripped away like a shroud, revealing Alduin in all his terrifying majesty. He was colossal, a nightmare made of shadow and scale, his black scales gleaming like polished obsidian under the newly revealed Sovngarde sun. His roar, a sound that resonated with the echoes of countless devoured souls, shook the very foundations of the valley, a raw, primal scream of draconic power.
A torrent of fire erupted from Alduin's maw, a wave of incandescent destruction that swept across the battlefield. The ground cracked and blackened beneath the intense heat. Spectral figures of the freed souls cried out, shielding themselves from the inferno. Even the mighty Nord heroes staggered, seeking cover behind the scattered remnants of ancient structures.
"Wards up!" Harin roared, channeling her magical energies.
A shimmering ward sprang into existence, straining against the onslaught of fire, the air around it shimmering with heat. Ibnor, his blood burning hot in his veins, stood his ground, his shield raised high. The fire washed over him, searing his armor, but he held firm, a bulwark against the dragon's fury. His magic resistance truly helped this time.
"We need to bring him down!" Gormlaith bellowed, leaping from behind a crumbling pillar, her ancient Nord sword flashing in the sunlight. A chunk of stone exploded where she had just been standing, a testament to Alduin's devastating power.
Harin knew the only way to pierce Alduin's invulnerability was Dragonrend. She gathered her Thu'um, focusing all her will, all her hatred, all her hope into the ancient words of power.
"JOOR ZAH FRUL!!"
The shout tore through the air, striking Alduin with the force of a battering ram. The World-Eater shrieked, a sound of pure agony and surprise, his vast wings faltering. He plummeted from the sky, like a falling mountain of scales and rage, crashing into the earth with a cataclysmic impact that sent tremors through the valley.
The battle exploded into chaotic movements of steel, fire, and fury. Gormlaith danced around Alduin's massive form, her sword leaving a blur trail of silver. Hakon, with powerful blows, slammed his ancient Nord battleaxe into Alduin's legs, drawing roars of pain from the beast.
"LIZ SLEN NUS!"
Felldir, his face grim, unleashed powerful shouts of Ice Form, encasing parts of Alduin's body in ice, slowing his movements.
Harin and Ibnor fought side-by-side, a force of nature against the World-Eater. Harin, nimble and quick, darted around Alduin's attacks, her blade finding chinks in his armor. Ibnor, a bastion of strength, met Alduin's powerful tail swipes with his shield, the impact reverberating through his entire body. He roared a challenge at the beast, using the opportunity to drive his own blade deep into Alduin's leg, drawing its attention and allowing Harin and the others to press their attack.
Alduin, enraged by the combined assault, reared back his massive head, preparing to unleash another torrent of fire. Harin saw the telltale signs – the guttural rumble in his throat, the slight widening of his jaws, the air shimmering with heat radiating from his open maw.
"Ibnor, look out!" she cried.
Before the inferno could erupt, Ibnor unleashed the Slow Time Shout.
"TIID!"
The world around them plunged into slow motion, the very air seeming to thicken and resist movement. But Ibnor moved with impossible speed, a blur against the sluggish backdrop. His muscles coiled, then unleashed with explosive force, his Enhanced Condition turning him into a living battering ram.
He launched himself at Alduin's head, his reinforced boot connecting with a sickening crack against the dragon's thick skull. The impact reverberated through Alduin's massive frame, the sound echoing across the valley. His head snapped violently to the side, the nascent flames in his throat abruptly cut off, escaping as a pathetic puff of acrid smoke. Alduin's roar of fury twisted into a strangled cough, his reptilian eyes widening in stunned disbelief, a flicker of pain registering in their depths.
Alduin's fury, now focused entirely on Ibnor, intensified tenfold. He roared, a sound of pure rage that shook the very ground. He lunged at Ibnor, his jaws snapping shut with terrifying force. Ibnor, still partially within the slowed time, barely managed to roll out of the way, the dragon's teeth snapping shut inches from his face, the hot, fetid breath washing over him. A spray of saliva landed on his cheek.
"Now he's really mad!" Ibnor yelled, scrambling to his feet, wiping the spittle from his face with the back of his hand.
Time returned to normal. Alduin unleashed his fire breath again, a searing torrent that engulfed the area.
"FEIM ZII GRON!"
Harin, anticipating the attack, used Become Ethereal, phasing out of reality just as the flames washed over her. She reappeared behind Alduin, driving her blade deep into his flank.
"FUS RO DAH!"
"LIZ SLEN NUS!"
"JOOR ZAH FRUL!"
The battle raged on with a desperate struggle against a force of the supernatural. But the combined power of the Dragonborn and the three Nord heroes was relentless. They pressed their advantage, striking blow after blow, weakening the World-Eater with each strike.
Gormlaith danced around Alduin's immense form, her blade a blur of silver. Each strike left a gash in the World-Eater's dark scales, drawing roars of pain that shook the very ground. With a savage cry, she lunged, her sword ripping through the membrane of one of Alduin's vast wings. A gout of black blood sprayed outwards as the wing tore, hindering the dragon's movements.
Hakon followed Gormlaith's assault with the raw strength of a mountain. He roared a challenge, his warhammer a thunderbolt in his hands. He brought it down on Alduin's leg with bone-jarring force. A sickening crack echoed through the air as bone splintered, and the great dragon staggered, hampered by the shattered limb.
While Gormlaith and Hakon delivered brutal physical blows, Felldir orchestrated the battle with arcane precision. He chanted incantations, his hands weaving intricate patterns in the air. Harin's Dragonrend, amplified by Felldir's magic, slammed into Alduin, forcing the dragon to the ground, interrupting his attempts to take flight or unleash his devastating shouts. It was a constant barrage, a magical shackle that kept the World-Eater struggling. But Felldir wasn't merely a support; he was an attacker in his own right. Runes of fire blazed in the air around him, coalescing into a searing bolt of magical energy. The spell streaked towards Alduin, impacting the already damaged wing with a burst of intense heat. The remaining wing membrane erupted in flames, further crippling the dragon and eliciting a deafening shriek of agony. The combined assault of blade, hammer, and magic was taking its toll.
Finally, Harin saw an opening. With a desperate cry, she channeled every ounce of her remaining power into a final, devastating blow. Her blade plunged deep into Alduin's heart, piercing the ancient scales and striking the darkness within.
Alduin roared one last time, a sound of pure, unadulterated pain. His body convulsed violently, the dark ichor flowing from the wound where Harin's blade was lodged. His scales began to crack and crumble, revealing the horrifying skeletal form beneath, a twisted mockery of draconic majesty.
The World-Eater thrashed and writhed, his essence tearing itself apart. The black, tar-like skeleton was exposed, a macabre cage for the dying god. His form continued to dissolve, fading into wisps of black smoke that swirled and dissipated into the newly cleared air. With a final, earth-shattering spasm, Alduin was utterly destroyed, his physical form and his very essence torn apart, leaving nothing behind.
The oppressive atmosphere lifted completely. The sky of Sovngarde shone with a radiant, golden light. The freed souls, no longer trapped by Alduin's soul snare, began to move towards the Whalebone Bridge, their spectral forms glowing with newfound peace.
Tsun approached Harin, his stern face now etched with profound respect.
"You have done that which no other could, Dragonborn," he boomed, his voice filled with awe. "You have fulfilled your destiny, and freed Sovngarde from the World-Eater's grasp."
Gormlaith, Hakon, and Felldir gathered around Harin and Ibnor, their faces radiating triumph and relief.
"Our ancient debt for Alduin's reprieve is now repaid - the long night is over!" Gormlaith declared, her voice ringing with joyous victory.
"My debt is repaid at last," Hakon echoed, a sense of profound peace washing over his features.
The freed souls, now able to cross the bridge without fear, offered their thanks to Harin as she passed, their voices a soft chorus of gratitude in the newly serene air of Sovngarde. The Stormcloak soldier, his eyes filled with tears of relief, offered a final nod of thanks before joining the procession to the Hall of Valor. Harin looked at Ibnor, a wave of exhaustion and profound relief washing over her. They had done it. They had finally defeated Alduin, the World-Eater. The fate of Skyrim, and perhaps the world, was finally secured.